The Legend of Fyrebeard's Gold

Steve Blease brings us an original and fun campaign framework for Strange Grogge, Wessex Games' black powder fantasy skirmish rules, designed for 28mm scale battles between Orcs, Dwarves, Elves and other popular fantasy races set in Panzerfäuste's realm of The Land two millennia before Alberich's jackbooted Dwarves swarm the continent.

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Fyrebeard took as much as he could o’ Dark Elf treasure,That he did not spend on ‘afling whores an’ leisure!From distant shore into the jungle ‘e went,Determined his loot not be found others an’ spent.

Deep in a cavern next to a lake he saw it placed,A waterfall in front would protect it being traced.A shaman’s spell, a guardian was called,Thieves wouldn't dare, they'd be mauled!

There the treasure lay; it was indeed too dangerousNobody disturbed it, not even the most courageous.Shanties turned monster into myth, 'til none thought it’ exist,Maybe the once feared guardian, had now faded into mist.

So me brave hearties, are you now so boldTo venture through jungle for Fyrebeard’s gold?!Or does the guardian still live, fill you wi’ dreadThat you hide under your sheets an’ stay in bed?

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The Legend of Fyrebeard’s Gold is a mini-campaign for Strange Grogge, it can be played solo or with friends. A GM might be useful but is not mandatory.

Each player raises a pirate or privateer band as per the rules. They can pick whichever of the eight races they wish, dicing for the number in the party and how many doubloons they can spend on equipment. In addition to the weapons listed in the rules the player may also chose to buy:

Ladder - five doubloonsRope - two doubloonsGrappling hook with rope - four doubloons

Inexperienced players should use the basic rules, but more fun will be had by playing the game using the role-playing rules.

To run the campaign the players, along with the usual miniatures, dice and a selection of terrain, will need a snakes and ladder board with 100 squares.

Square one represents the pirate freeport of Tõrquemârga and is the only square on which the pirate bands cannot attack each other. The rest of the board represents the jungles of the Môrgurinian Maine. All parties start the game on square one and each turn the players roll s D6 to decide who goes first, re-rolling ties.

As you would in snakes & ladders you roll one D6 to see how many squares you advance. As in the kids games, ladders see you advance more quickly (your party discovers a hidden trail in the jungle), snakes see you fall back (you get lost).

If a second party lands on an already occupied square they have the choice of fighting the first party. If they decide not to they “hide” and miss the next turn. From a terrain point of view, the battleground should be a 3 foot square table and unless specified below, the terrain a random mix of light and dense jungle.

Once a player lands on a square they consult the following table.

1 - Tõrquemârga. All parties start the game in this wretched hive of scum and villainy.

97 - Whoops! You have ended up in a Native Halfling village! They don’t like you. 10 + D6 Halflings armed with spears attack you.

98 - Jungle. No effect on progress.

99 - Wrong turn. The rail splits in two and you take the wrong one. Return to 6.

100 - You have found Fyrebread’s Treasure. Unfortunately it is in a cave halfway up a cliff behind a waterfall (you did equip your party with a ladder or rope didn’t you? If not it’s a hazardous climb). Unfortunately a Chimera lives in the cave and you will need to kill that before you can claim the treasure (use the Wilde Things for the Chimera)

Once one party successfully discovers the loot, they need to make it safely back to Tõrquemârga, so play the game backwards. However landing on a snakes tail will result in your party being moved to where the head is and the top of a ladder is now the trail that leads to the lower square.

Rival parties hear the hoots of celebration when the successful party discovers Fyrebeard’s loot and themselves head back towards Tõrquemârga in the hope of intercepting their rivals and capturing the lot from them.

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An Introduction to Strange Grogge (by Steve Blease himself, taken from the rulebook)

Avast Ye Scurvy Dogs…

Strange Grogge is a set of wargames rules designed to allow you to play black powder fantasy skirmishes in a mythical realm with 28mm scale miniatures. Whilst they are set in a fantasy world, gamers will find that they can be used for straight black powder historical games, especially for those games inspired by the Hollywood version of history!

Strange Grogge is set in the fictional world of The Land, and the history here precedes the events outlined in our mechanized fantasy warfare rules Panzerfaüste by some two millennia. Use of this background is however completely optional and players should feel free to use a totally different setting whether it be based on a film or book background, history, some other game system or one of their own invention, if they so wish.

Getting Hold of Strange Grogge

You can buy Strange Grogge right now over on Wargame Vault, currently discounted to a mere £2.50. If you don't own them, do yourself a favour and grab them now.

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Webmaster's Notes

This article was written exclusively for Orcs in the Webbe and was first published on the 19th December 2015 as part of its 2015 Advent Calendar.